Technology is a constantly evolving process that ensures that every 6 months, something better is available to the consumer. The processing power is getting faster within a smaller CPU like never before. I mention this known fact as a new line of processors are being seen in notebooks and desktop PCs. The Intel Core i7 is widely used but now the Intel Core i3 and Core i5 has arrived . The big selling point for the i7 Nehalem processors was integration, increase in performance and power efficiency. I think the power efficiency is a clear sign that green IT products will becoming more common as time goes by, at a lesser price to the consumer.
Also the Intel Core 2 Duo and Core 2 Quad branding will be phased out and replaced with these newer modified Intel Core chips.
Let’s start with the desktop processors:
| Desktop Processor | Cores | Threads | Turbo |
| Intel Core i7 | 4 | 8 | Yes |
| Intel Core i5 | 2 or 4 | 4 | Yes |
| Intel Core i3 | 2 or 4 | 4 | N |
Four cores and HT enabled with turbo mode yields you a Intel Core i7 on the desktop. If you only have support for up to 4 threads then you’ve got a Intel Core i5; take away turbo and you have a Core i3. For those a bit confused, HT refers to Hyper-threading, which is Intel’s term for simultaneous multi-threading. Multi-threading indicates the ability to do multiple tasks at once.
Mobile processors:
| Mobile Processor | Cores | Threads | Turbo |
| Intel Core i7 | 2 or 4 | 4 or 8 | Yes |
| Intel Core i5 | 2 or 4 | 4 | Yes |
| Intel Core i3 | 2 or 4 | 4 | No |
The mobile i7 can be 2 or 4 cores and support 4 or 8 threads, which makes sense since there will be more dual-core than quad-core mobile processors. The rest of the lineup follows the desktop rules; Intel i5 and Intel i3 are capped at 4 threads and Core i3 doesn’t have Turbo.
I suspect that consumers will have to do some more homework prior to purchasing a desktop PC or notebook due to the similarity in name of the various Intel CPUs.
